Parking in the Shade. Hello Steemit!

“Surround yourself only with those that will lift you higher” Oprah Winfrey. I have always believed that this was very sound and wise advice. As I began to examine and understand how the Steemit platform works I realized that the concept here clearly seems to be in synch with that very thought. So that being said, I am Preston Baker, a retiree from the City of NY. I have spent the past four years here in sunny Orlando, Florida with my wife, Madelyn of 31 years and my trusty rescue dog Oreo.

I won’t bore you with the variety of writing I composed for NYC during my career but it ran the gamut from EEO findings to procedure manuals. Not very exciting stuff but I loved the challenge of conveying an idea or concept in a clear and concise manner. Upon our relocation to sunny florida I maintained a wordpress blog for a little over two years, Healthstyles: The Vital Source to Great Health The objective was to educate folks on the wonders that Mother Nature provided that were readily available to enhance our health and wellbeing. I also tried, whenever I could to shed light on the evils of Big Pharma and their objective to create customers and not cures. As they say the proof is in the pudding, well I am in my upper 60’s, I take no prescription meds whatsoever and according to my doctor I am in great shape for my age. If I may offer a quick health tip, stay away from sugar, especially granulated white sugar and milk, it does not do a body good as they would have you believe.

I no longer maintain the blog but the facebook fan page is still active with health tips and motivation to encourage the pursuit of higher goals in life; https://www.facebook.com/urvital/

Why, “Parking in the Shade”? Well those of us who live in the sunshine state clearly understand, especially during the sweltering summer months that those parking spaces next to a big shade tree are like finding gold here in Florida. Another quick tip, if you plan to drive around Florida is to invest in a sunscreen for your windshield unless you want to try driving with oven mitts.
In actuality,more than just the hot weather, “Parking in the Shade” is a metaphor for our change to a life of retirement. The daily grind of our 9-5 jobs in NYC, the over- crowded subways and the mental and physical stress of surviving in the big city are now a thing of the past.

My son, Matthew and I are driving the uhaul truck and trailer crossing over the Verrazano bridge leaving NYC heading to Florida and retirement. We get to the toll booth and the lady looks at our vehicle and says “That will be $66 and ten cents”. I clearly wasn’t expecting to have to pay so much blood money to leave town. I almost asked her why the ten cents but we scraped up the fare and as I handed her the exit fee I looked her straight in the eye with a smile and said”We won’t be back”.

Now we can “catch our breath” so to speak. Put our feet up, go to the beach on Monday, or sleep late whenever we so desire. We have in so many ways, taken the exit ramp off of the hustle and bustle highway, found a quiet tree lined street, turned off the engine and parked in the shade to enjoy life. I am truly excited and looking forward to the Steemit experience and being a part of this fascinating community! It is hoped that our new friendship will lift us both higher.
So nice to meet you all.
pbaker820